Work

Additive Manufacturing for Thermal Energy Storage Systems: A Review of Architected Structures, Heat Transfer Enhancement, and Design Strategies

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Thermal energy storage (TES) technologies are essential for renewable energy integration, industrial waste heat recovery, grid flexibility, and improved energy efficiency. Despite advances in sensible heat thermal energy storage (SHTES), latent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES), and thermochemical energy storage (TCES), practical deployment remains constrained by inadequate heat transfer rates, which limit charging and discharging processes, reduce storage utilization, and increase system size and cost. Conventional heat-transfer enhancement approaches, including fins, embedded heat exchangers, conductive additives, porous structures, and flow intensification techniques often introduce trade-offs related to manufacturability, complexity, durability, and energy consumption. Additive manufacturing (AM) has emerged as a promising approach for overcoming these limitations by enabling precise control of internal geometry, porosity, surface-area-to-volume ratio, and fluid pathways. Through the fabrication of architected structures, lattice networks, triply periodic minimal surface (TPMS) geometries, and multifunctional heat-transfer architectures, AM enables geometry-driven optimization of thermal performance that is difficult to achieve using conventional manufacturing methods. These capabilities support the development of compact TES systems with enhanced heat transfer, improved thermal uniformity, and increased energy utilization. This review examines additive manufacturing technologies relevant to TES applications, including powder bed fusion, directed energy deposition, material extrusion, vat photopolymerization, and binder jetting. The relationships among manufacturing processes, material selection, and thermal performance are discussed across SHTES, LHTES, and TCES systems. Particular emphasis is placed on AM-enabled heat-transfer enhancement strategies, phase change material (PCM)-integrated structures, architected thermal networks, embedded heat exchangers, and computational design methodologies such as topology optimization. Current challenges involving material compatibility, scalability, cost, and long-term durability are also evaluated. The review highlights how additive manufacturing is transforming TES design from a material-centered paradigm toward geometry-enabled thermal engineering, creating new opportunities for next-generation energy storage systems.

Source: Energies

DOI: 10.3390/en19184292

Authors: Kyle Weber, Saeed Tiari, Babak Eslami

Institution: Widener University

Language: English

Topic: Phase Change Materials Research

Subfield: Mechanical Engineering

Field: Engineering

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDGs: Affordable and clean energy, Industry, innovation and infrastructure

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,137